Asian-American vote significant in Oakland County

By CHRIS LAINE

Friday, October 12, 2012

With the general election now in the final stretch many different groups and organizations are getting the message out about the upcoming race. One group, which is focusing its attention on a growing voter demographic in the state, says southeast Michigan and Oakland County in particular will play an important role on Nov. 6.

Asian & Pacific Islander American (APIA) Vote-Michigan, an organization that focuses on the state's Asian-American voting population, has registered 711 Asian-American Michigan voters at registration drives in southeast and west Michigan since January of this year. In Oakland County alone the growing Asian-American voting population is evident, says APIA.

"Asian-American residents account for 5.6 percent of the Oakland county population and the second highest Asian- American population in Michigan," said Andrew Kim, APIA Vote-MI Get Out The Vote Coordinator. "Washtenaw County is number one with 7.9 percent, however Oakland Country has a bigger overall Asian-American population. The Asian- American population has increased by 30 percent since 2000 and in Novi alone the population has doubled. Of the 711 voters registered by APIA Vote-MI, approximately 20 percent (144) were residents of Oakland County."

The Michigan Vote Coordinator stated many different Asian-American organizations within Oakland County have contributed to the group's voter education program.

"The American Chinese School of Greater Detroit, the Korean United Methodist Church of Greater Detroit, the Philippine American Community Center of Michigan and Tawheed Center were some of the key organizations in Oakland County that have partnered with us in voter registration efforts," said Kim. "Phone banks will be conducted in Farmington Hills and Troy this month to encourage Asian-American Oakland County residents to get out and vote. The Asian-American community has the opportunity to become the margin of victory in many of the close Congressional and local elections."

A survey, which was conducted earlier this year by the national office of the organization and Lake Research Partners, concluded that Asian-American voters in Michigan seem to be more in tune with this year's race than in previous elections.

"I have noticed a definite rise in the importance of voter registration and civic participation in the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community," said Nasreen Islam, APIA Vote-Michigan community coordinator. "Every ethnic group we have approached appreciated the voter registration drives and encouraged us to do more on educating the community about the election, candidates and civic participation."

APIA Vote-Michigan's voter registration initiatives have resulted in the creation of partnerships with local Asian-American civic and faith-based organizations and student organizations such as the United Asian-American Organizations (UAAO) at the University of Michigan and the Asian Pacific American Student Organizations (APASO) at Michigan State University.

"Asian-American college students at the University of Michigan and around the state are really excited to vote in November," said Joy Duo, University of Michigan UAAO representative. "Many first year students will be voting for the first time and UAAO is proud to be part of the effort to ensure that these students are registered and mobilized to vote."

The group's Get Out The Vote campaign plans to reach out to 20,000 Asian-American voters this month in the eight counties with the highest Asian-American populations (Ingham, Kalamazoo, Kent, Macomb, Oakland, Ottawa, Wayne and Washtenaw) by way of educational mailers,

FYI

APIA Vote-Michigan will host two candidate forums to provide opportunity for voters to meet candidates and learn about Michigan's ballot proposals. Candidates from the US Senate; 9th, 10th, and 11th Congressional Districts; 20th, 21st, 25th, 30th Michigan House Districts and local races have been invited to participate. The first forum will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 25 at the Sterling Heights Lion's Club, 12828 Canal Road, Sterling Heights. The event will be co-sponsored by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations and the Filipino American Political Association of Michigan. The second forum will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, October 27 at the Canton Public Library, 1200 S. Canton Center Road, Canton. The event will be co-sponsored by the Chinese Association of Greater Detroit. For more information visit www.apiavotemi.org.